The New Girls: When Mary Sues End up at Kilmer
by heyimsodone
Summary: Four new girls show up at Joyce Kilmer Middle School. Everything is turned upside-down when these ladies arrive. Does everything go perfectly for such "perfect" girls? Plus, be sure to check out Amber Show's New Kids in HISMS, which uses my characters!
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, I don't own How I Survived Middle School, but I do own Sophia, Millie, Maxine, and Celeste. I felt like I should write something since there's hardly anything for this book. So enjoy!**

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Jenny's POV:

I first saw her in second period. She sat in a seat near the front, her skinny elbows resting on her desk. One hand supported her chin as she stared around the room, giving everyone a once-over like many of the Pops do. She was alone, talking to no one, but she seemed confident and comfortable with her solitude. Most new kids look around awkwardly, but she could have easily been talking with a group of girls and act the same way as she was.

The most obvious thing about her was that she could be a Pop. With her high-class style and perfect hair, she was _better_ than the Pops. She had a silk blouse tucked into a skirt, complete with tights and ankle booties with a small heel. An expensive-looking scarf was wrapped around her neck. I'm not that used to seeing those; the ones that are meant for fashion and do virtually nothing to protect against the weather. Her Coach bag was sitting next to her booties.

She continued eyeing the girls standing by the door, waiting for the bell to ring. She looked over their clothes, and then seemed satisfied. The girls' clothes used to be thought of high-class, but compared to the girl, they looked like trash.

Her head snapped over to me and her green eyes locked with mine. Her lips pursed as she stared at me, probably wondering why I was looking at her. I broke my gaze and sat down, wishing Chloe or Felicia were in my class.

The girl turned away and stared at the front of the room, pushing a curled hair away from her face. Her light brown hair, a little darker than blonde, was pulled into a side bun. Her makeup was flawless, her eyes lined and had just the right amount of shadow, and her lips were moisturized and glossed. Her skin was clear and evenly toned, and some blush was applied to her cheeks. This girl was the total package.

"Class," the teacher strode into the room as everyone scurried to their seats. "We've got a couple new students starting late this year, moving here all the way from New York. We have Millie here in our class today." She smiled and gestured to Millie.

Everyone turned and stared at her. The guys focused on her long legs as the girls critiqued her outfit only to find no flaws.

"Now that you know her, let's begin." The teacher turned to the board. Immediately, Millie slipped out her IPhone from her purse and sent a text to someone. Dana, who sat behind her, glanced over at Addie sneakily and leaned forward in her seat, trying to read over Millie's shoulder.

Instead of taking notes like we were supposed to, most of us were watching Millie's slender fingers fly over her phone. She seemed to be experienced, since she knew when to look up at the teacher and knew when the teacher would glance back at the class to make sure we were paying attention.

She sighed at her phone, and a curious look spread over Dana's face, who was leaning so far over that her knees were on the chair. Mille glanced around at her and everyone else and realized we were staring. She looked back down at her phone and seemed not to care.

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It was interesting to watch Millie saunter down the hall when it was time for lunch. She was confident in her heels and looked a little off-put by all the kids wearing comfortable sneakers and cheap jeans. I followed behind her as we both entered the lunch room.

We both got into line, and I noticed that she was mostly buying the healthier choices, which was the salad, half a bagel, and a side of fruit.

She paused after she bought her lunch, scanning over the room. I looked over and saw Mark, Chloe, Felicia, Rachel, Josh, and Lisa. The twins must have a different lunch period.

"Millie," I said.

Millie turned around and looked at me. She raised her eyebrow, prompting me to speak.

"Do you want to sit with us?" I gestured to my friends over at their table. My friends watched curiously as I spoke with her.

Millie's voice was confident and smooth. "I'm sitting with my friends." She pointed to a group of three other girls who patiently waited for her. They were dressed just as high-class as her, each of them equally pretty.

Without waiting for my response, Millie sauntered over to her friends. I turned away and went to my table.

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Millie's POV:

When I sat down at my table, my best friends Sophia, Maxine, and Celeste greeted me.

"Millie!" Celeste squealed in her girlish voice. Her blonde curls bounced around her face.

Everything about Celeste was girly. She wore heels, skirts, and purses that were girly. She had this cute girly laugh that guys liked and her rounded face gave her the image of innocence. It was a false image. Celeste knew how to use her cute face to get what she wanted, and we loved it when she would pout and get us out of trouble.

"OMG, that text you sent me during class was the only thing that kept me awake. For real," Sophia said dominantly.

Sophia was sort of the leader in our group. She had the best advice for everything and always knew what to do when things got awkward or tough. We love her because she makes everything look so easy. She's confident and sure in every situation.

"Everyone is so fashion-challenged here. I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone," Maxine whispered. Her brown hair was pulled into a neat side-pony. Her side-bangs were given a slight curl. Maxine was extremely talented. She became uber-popular on Youtube, so she made it on the news and might shoot a music video for one of her songs. She's addicted to music, but usually listens to music that isn't played on the radio. She finds the best songs that lots of people hardly listen to. It's so funny at school dances, since she requests songs that aren't the biggest hits, so the DJ never knows them. She detests Justin Bieber and will never forgive Sophia for loving him, since Maxine was originally convinced he was secretly a girl.

"That's what we get for going to public school," Sophia noted, and began to eat her salad.

"Everyone is staring at us," Celeste whispered, adjusting the pink bow clipped to her hair.

"It's 'cause we're hot," Maxine guessed.

"It's 'cause you're famous." I poked Maxine.

"Over two million views on Youtube, thank you very much."

We all giggled.

"It's 'cause we're dressed like royalty compared to these people," Sophia said.

"Who cares? The important part is that they probably don't know half the songs on my IPod." Maxine waved it in the air.

"Why is that the important part?" Sophia asked, amused.

"Because they don't know half the songs on my IPod!" Maxine giggled.

Sophia shook her head. I raised my eyebrows at Maxine in a _you're-crazy-but-I-love-you_ sort of way and flashed an entertained smile. Maxine grinned back.

I glanced around the room to see a bunch of girls walking our way, looking curious and a little bit threatened.

"I'm Addie. Are you the new girls?" a blonde curly-haired girl asked.

Sophia looked her up and down, taking in her Ugg boots and blue cotton skirt, which matched her plain white tank top. "Who's asking?" Sophia challenged.

**Dun dun dun! Will a rivalry between the two groups break out? You must review to find out!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, heeerre you go!**

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Millie's POV:

"_We're_ asking, that's who," said Dana in a snobby voice.

"Well, that doesn't tell me much about you." Sophia gave a half-smile, then smoothed out her jeans.

"We're the _popular_ girls here. So stop trying to be cool." Dana rolled her eyes.

I looked at Sophia, Celeste, and Maxine with my eyebrows raised.

"Go ahead, be the popular girls. We don't really care." Sophia shrugged. "We'll wear what we want and act how we want."

Addie and Dana seemed taken aback by Sophia's laid-back attitude. They were expecting her to lash out and retaliate, and then maybe a skirmish would occur. I snickered at how dumbstruck they looked and finished my apple.

"Oh, okay." Addie seemed embarrassed at how high-strung she and Dana were. She grabbed Dana's arm and dragged her back to their table, stomping all the way.

We all turned towards each other. It felt as if a blanket of silence had enveloped us, making us unable to speak. I was at a loss for words. A bowling ball seemed to be stuck down my throat.

"Well, that was awkward," Maxine said matter-of-factly. For some reason we all cracked up. I gripped my stomach, Sophia tried not to cry from laughter, Maxine hunched over, her shoulders moving up and down from laughing, and Celeste used her trademark giggles, her hair bouncing around her face.

After we all calmed down, we chatted normally and threw away our finished foods.

"I still don't get why they think we're trying to act cool," Maxine muttered as we passed the popular kids' table.

"Have you seen what you're wearing?" Sophia whispered back. "It's not how you act, it's how you dress."

"Well excuse me for having nice clothes since I have a couple extra bucks from my record deal!" Maxine rolled her eyes.

We all shrugged and smiled sheepishly at each other. "We are dressed kind of fancy," I admitted.

"I _like_ the way I dress," Celeste said proudly. "I'm not changing my personal style, even if it looks like I'm trying to be cool." She defiantly jutted out her chin.

"Who cares what they think anyway?" Sophia said, getting into one of her _we-are-great-the-way-we-are-and-shouldn't-change-ourselves_ kind of lectures.

"Exactly," I said, interrupting her before she could really get into it. "Now, let's get to our next class."

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Jenny's POV:

"Did you see the new girls?" Chloe stopped at Mark's locker. I was standing there, talking with him, Lisa, and Rachel when she interrupted.

"Who hasn't?" Mark replied, and shoved more books into his locker.

"They dress so weird. And wear makeup. And heels." Chloe scrunched her face up. She only liked T-shirts and jeans. "Kinda snobby-looking if you ask me."

"We can't judge them on their appearances," Lisa said quietly. "Who knows what kind of people they really are? Just because they have nice hair, nice clothes, heels, makeup, and designer purses doesn't mean they are bad people…" she trailed off, realizing her argument wasn't too convincing.

"Millie wasn't mean to me when I asked if she wanted to sit with us," I pointed out.

"Doesn't mean she was nice," Chloe argued.

"I just don't think we should talk about them behind their backs, that's all," Lisa commented.

Maxine and Millie breezed past us at that moment, talking in low voices with their heads close. We watched them walk down the hall.

"See? They're gossiping," Chloe said triumphantly.

"They've only been here for one day." Mark shook his head. "Have they really been here long enough to gossip that much?"

"Well, maybe not." Chloe looked at the floor. "But I guarantee by the next month they will be gossip machines!" she headed down the hallway.

"Do you really think they will?" Rachel asked us.

"Only time will tell," Mark said uncertainly.

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**Sort of a filler chapter. Can't have too much going on in every chapter, can we? REVIEW REVIEW! It would make my day!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I've got too much time on my hands—hey, I love that song! Well, anyway, here is the next chapter:**

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**Maxine's POV:

After a long first day, I hurried to gather my books. I had to go to the studio and work on a new song. I quickly rushed out of the school after giving Sophia, Celeste, and Millie a quick hug good-bye, promising to call them after my rehearsals. I walked as fast as my heels allowed, and I turned on my IPod Touch. While waiting for it to power up, I realized I would be walking past Addie and her friends, who were wiping off their makeup so they wouldn't get into trouble with their parents. I snickered to myself. Why wear makeup if you're not allowed to?

The "Pops" or something like that—I listened in on a couple kids talking today and they used that name for the popular kids—saw me and began whispering. I kept my eyes forward and put my purple headphones on, choosing my new favorite song, _Dog Days Are Over_ by Florence + The Machine. I love the song, and the music video on Youtube is okay. It's a little weird, but totally expressive. **(A/N: Love that song. I suggest you check it out on Youtube.)**

I adjusted my headphones, making sure they weren't messing up my hair. I switched to headphones from ear buds after my agent showed me an article about how ear buds are more likely to mess up your hearing. And besides, headphones are way cool because they have awesome designs that really make a statement.

I guess I'm pretty different from Sophia, Celeste, and Millie. My style is a little different—I wear brighter colors that don't have much of a design on them, like flowers or something. I'm not a big fan of flowers; they're too…is frilly the word? Feminine? Girly?

Like when guys give a girl flowers, and she swoons all over, so feminine and dependent on him, you know? I don't want to be that girl.

Sophia's all leader-y. Sometimes bossy, but she does give killer advice. I'm not much of a leader, but it's not too hard to push me to do something. I prefer to let things work itself out, so I usually don't go to her for advice.

Celeste is so girly and…well, pretty much girly. Basically she's the dependent chick I'm talking about. Don't get me wrong, I love Celeste, but when she giggles at the stupidest things with that high-pitched laugh, I kind of want to kill her. How can she be so animated on a school day?

Millie is…well, Millie is pretty normal. She's pretty down-to-earth and the way she walks…for some reason, it's really fascinating. She has this way of gliding with heels that I can't really do. Her steps are so smooth and graceful. I'm still waiting for the day that she will trip.

Me? I'm sort of clumsy. I constantly bump into things. Nowadays I hardly notice when I run into something or someone. I'm used to the feeling of it, I guess.

When I made it to my father's car, I quickly opened the door and jumped in, glad to be done with this school day.

"Hey, kid, how was school?"

"Okay, I guess. " I shrugged.

"How are the kids? Are you okay with public or do you want us to switch to private? You said public was fine since it would be easier if you have to miss school for your job, you know." My father rambled. I guess he was just nervous for me. My dad does that a lot. He lets himself ramble on until he thinks something awful might happen, then will worry about it throughout the day, even if it was something as simple to forgetting to feed the fish. My solution is to find a psychic who will tell him the future so he knows what will happen and won't freak out about it.

_Note to self: Ask agent to find psychic for Dad._

"The kids are fine. None of them seem to smoke or do drugs, so the school is okay." I rested my hands on my pants.

"Good, good," my father relaxed.

He worries about the trivial things. I think Sophia is like my dad that way. She says not to care about what others think, but deep down, she cares. I share my quotes and philosophies with her, and she nods thoughtfully, but I never see it in her eyes. They stare back, dull and void of caring, practically saying_, Yeah, I understand and will think about it for the day, but by the time I go to bed I'll forget everything._

I can almost feel her closed off heart. Why doesn't she open it? Why doesn't anyone else try to let the words sink to their heart?

Millie is slightly different. She listens to me the most, and I can tell she tries to let it sink in. Just about anything I tell her will stay in her mind longer than everyone else's words. I think I like her the most for that.

Does anyone else notice these things? Do they care? Why do I feel like the only one who gets it?

Why do I have to be the different one?

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Sophia and Celeste were fighting when I sat down at lunch the next day. Millie was the only one who acknowledged me.

"I'm sorry I forgot to call you last night!" Celeste huffed.

"You promised you would. I was up late waiting for that call." Sophia glared.

"You called me anyway before eleven last night." Celeste waved away Sophia's words.

"Yeah, and I remember how you called me annoying because I called at eleven pm."

Celeste's fake smile faltered. "I..uh…thought you were my weird cousin."

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Millie's POV:

"Guys, is everything okay?" Maxine studied Celeste and Sophia.

Both girls whirled towards her. "Yes, everything's okay!" they turned towards each other angrily.

"_No, no, I don't want to hear you tell me everything is wonderful now_!" Maxine sang.

I remembered again why she got that record deal and over two million views on Youtube.

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Jenny's POV:

Who was singing?

I entered the lunch room later than usual and heard someone singing. She had a really awesome voice. Lots of people stopped talking to listen. Then I noticed it was Maxine who was singing some song I've never heard before.

I was able to listen as I picked out my lunch, since her table was right by the lunch line.

"_Hope my mom and I hope my dad  
Will figure out why they get so mad  
Hear them scream, I hear them fight  
They say bad words that make me wanna cry"_

She ended with a final line. "_Please don't tell me everything is wonderful now."_

Everyone in the cafeteria sat silent. A couple kids clapped awkwardly, including the lunch ladies, and then buzzing started. Kids began discussing Maxine's voice.

Celeste, Sophia, and Millie stared at Maxine.

"Come on. _Wonderful_ by Everclear!" Maxine threw her hands up into the air, unaffected by her performance.

I saw Sophia raise her eyebrows. "And the point of that was…?"

"I hate seeing you guys fight. So stop lying and telling me everything is okay when it's obviously not."

"She's right." Celeste turned to Sophia, pouting her lower lip submissively for Sophia's sake. "We also shouldn't fight over something stupid like that."

"Agreed." I watched Sophia reach over and hug Celeste.

What were they fighting about?

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Wonderful** by Everclear is pretty good. I suggest you check it out, along with **_**Dog Days are Over**_**. But in the meantime, REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!**

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Jenny's POV:

"She's such a show-off," I heard Maya complain as I made my way to my lunch table.

"I know, right?" Dana agreed.

Sabrina Rosen said something about Maxine, but Addie's extremely dark eyeliner was too distracting. I respectfully forced myself to look away and sit down at my table.

"Oh my goodness, did you _hear_ Maxine?" Chloe burst out as I sat down. "What a show-off."

"That's what Maya just said three seconds ago." I realized how Chloe could act like the Pops sometimes. She doesn't like competition and is quick to judge. I realized Chloe could be one of the Pops if she tried to act normal and wore cute clothes. The Pops aren't really that different from us, I guess. It's the little differences that make them so special.

"I thought she was really good," Felicia said, sitting next to Josh.

"She didn't even seem to care that everyone was listening," Rachel commented.

"That's because she's a YouTube hit and is recording a CD. She might even shoot a music video," Josh stated.

"Really? How do you know?" I asked him. Someone famous on YouTube goes to our school?

"Yeah, how do you know?" Felicia repeated, sounding slightly suspicious.

"I saw it on the news." Josh shrugged.

"I'll check it out after school today," Marc said. We all looked over towards Maxine's table. Sophia, Celeste, and Millie seemed to be discussing something important. Maxine ignored them and listened to her IPod, tuning them out.

"I wonder what they're talking about that would make her so bored," Josh noted.

"Who cares?" Felicia rolled her eyes, annoyed by Josh's interest.

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Sophia's POV:

I hate science. Thankfully I have it with Maxine, who writes the lyrics to her favorite songs and lets me memorize them to pass the time. Then I rewrite the words in swirly script and decorate them for her.

My pencil kept breaking. Why does it keep doing that? Three times I already got up from my seat to sharpen it. I'm pretty sure Ms. Potter won't let me get up again.

I turned around in my seat to ask Josh for a pencil only to find him staring at Maxine. OMG!

"Josh," I whisper.

His eyes snap over to me. "What?"

"Why are you staring at Maxine?"

"I was not staring."

"Yeah you were."

"No I wasn't."

"_Yeah_ you _were!_"

Josh rolled his eyes and blushed.

"OMG, you like her!" I whispered excitedly.

"No."

"Fine, then. Shut up and give me a pencil,_ please_."

Josh rolled his eyes again and handed me a pencil.

"Thanks." I winked at him. "I'll so set you up with her."

"No, I have a girlfriend." Josh's eyes grew wide in horror.

"Please, Maxine is recording an album, and she's nice. Girls don't get any better than that." I turned around in my seat so Josh couldn't object any more. I love gossip.

I looked over at Maxine. She was really pretty. Her brown hair was wavy, thanks to her mousse. She had on a yellow shirt that went off the shoulder on one side, showing her bright green tank top. She wore black jeans with bright yellow and green shoes with purple stripes. She was sporting the in-your-face style today.

I couldn't wait to tell her about Josh!

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"Um, okay." Was all Maxine said in between classes when I told her Josh was staring at her in Science.

"_Um, okay _is not what you're supposed to say." I huffed. "What you should say is 'OMG! Is he going to ask me out? This is so awesome!'"

Maxine straightened up and plastered on a fake smile. "OMG! Is he going to ask me out? This is soooo awesome!"

"I don't know yet."

Maxine rolled her eyes. Why couldn't she be grateful that I'm going to all this trouble to try and set her up with a boy? "Isn't he the nerdy one who sits behind me in Science?"

"Uh-huh." I nodded.

"Oh." Maxine shrugged.

"So?" I prompted. "Are you gonna go out with him?"

"Doesn't he have a girlfriend or something? I saw this one chick hang around him during lunch yesterday."

"Yeah, but you're way better than her. I'm just trying to help him," I said in my most caring voice. _This one chick_? It makes her sound so…ghetto for a well-dressed girl.

"Eh, no thanks." Maxine put on her headphones, signaling the conversation was over.

I looked at Millie and Celeste helplessly. "She needs a boyfriend."

"She's in seventh grade. Please tell me why she _needs_ one," Millie whispered.

"Because then she'll stop being so annoying."

Millie rolled her eyes. Even Celeste was silent, which made me realize I went too low. Being too proud to apologize, I turned around and stomped off to my next class.

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Jenny's POV:

"Jenny!" Marc called out to me after school. Felicia and Josh were standing next to him. "Come see this!"

I quickly zipped up my backpack after stuffing my algebra textbook in there. Once I caught up to them, I asked, "What's up?"

"Marc just showed us one of Maxine's videos on YouTube. Someone videotaped her at a school concert and it's pretty awesome," Josh said, ignoring Felicia's glares.

"Yeah, you wanna check it out?" Marc asked me.

"If she sang like she did today, then sure."

"Oh, she's even better in the video," Marc assured me.

I followed him, Josh, and Felicia into the computer lab, where they already had YouTube loaded on a computer. Marc quickly played the video, and I watched as a lady on the screen introduced Maxine, who sat down at a piano and said, "I dedicate this song to my best friends Sophia, Celeste, and Millie."

Celeste, Sophia, and Millie whooped in the video as Maxine began playing the piano and crooned,

"_She's got a way about her  
I don't know what it is  
But I know that I can't live without her  
She's got a way of pleasin'  
I don't know what it is  
But there doesn't have to be a reason anyway_

_She's got a smile that heals me_  
_I don't know why it is_  
_But I have to laugh when she reveals me_  
_She's got a way of talkin'_  
_I don't know why it is_  
_But it lifts me up when we are walkin' anywhere_

_"She comes to me when I'm feelin' down_  
_Inspires me without a sound_  
_She touches me and I get turned around"_

After more verses, Maxine ended the song to much applause with her three friends screaming in the front row.

"That was amazing," I commented.

"Billy Joel," Josh stated.

"What?"

"Billy Joel wrote that song," he explained. "She did a really nice job singing it."

"Her friends seemed to like it." Marc powered off the old white computer. The gentle humming it was making slowed to a stop as it shut off. "I wonder if they're still as close."

"Sophia seemed to be bugging her today," I pointed out. "And Celeste and Sophia were bickering yesterday."

"So they're not as perfect as they act." Felicia rolled her eyes.

"What are you guys talking about?" a voice said behind us. All four of us whirled around to find Maxine standing there with a hand on her hip, one brightly colored shoe tapping, waiting for an answer.

"Nothing," Felicia said quickly.

"Lies." Maxine's gaze did not waver from Felicia's face. "Your eyes looked to the left, which indicated you were creating something to say. If you were looking to the right, you would be _remembering_ what you were doing and tell the truth."

"How do you know that?" I burst out.

Maxine's eyes flicked towards me, and an amused, crooked smile played across her lips. "That's beside the point. I come in here, find you guys looking at my video, which is fine. What's not fine is that you are talking about how I act perfect or something?" she raised an eyebrow. "I'm pretty sure you didn't mean it in a positive way, which I don't appreciate." With that she walked out of the computer, her gold-colored tote bag bouncing against her hip.

Felicia looked guiltily down at the floor. We all said nothing, feeling awkward and guilty. I broke the silence first.

"Is she insane or just unique?" I asked jokingly.

"It's hard to tell," Marc responded, to which we all smiled.

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**Hope you liked it! Feedback would be great!**


	5. Chapter 5

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Well, I've got a weird twist coming for you in this chapter!

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Maxine's POV:

"MAXINE!" my agent Lily screamed at me. She burst into the room where I was currently rehearsing my song, prepping to record a new CD. She dashed toward me and gave me a bear hug, swinging me through the air.

"Ugnnnnnaaahhhhh," was all I was able to reply since I couldn't breathe. Lily squeezed, her red nails digging into my back.

"YOU JUST GOT ANOTHER MILLION VIEWS ON YOUTUBE!" she bellowed, dropping me suddenly. I fell on my ankle and cursed loudly, lying in a heap on the floor. "Which means we get even MORE money!" my insane agent laughed maniacally.

"And the first thing we're going to use the money for is to pay my doctor's bill when he treats me for a broken ankle," I hissed through my teeth.

Lily ignored me, muttering to herself, probably something about how to spend the money and the possibility of the music video. I ignored her, used to her quirks, and decided to check out my ankle. Of course I couldn't stand on it or even flex it. _Great_.

Lily looked down to see me on the floor. "Why are you on the floor? Get up, it's dirty. What did you do to your ankle? You're so clumsy." She helped me up. "We should probably have a doctor check it out," she decided.

I rolled my eyes. _"Really?"_

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Millie's POV:

"OMG!" Sophia shrieked, looking at her phone. Celeste and I were at her big house after school. We were in her room, flipping through magazines and gossiping when Sophia received a text. Sophia was just about to ask me who I liked before the text interrupted. _Thank the Lord for small miracles._ "Maxine's ankle is broken!"

"_How_?" Celeste squealed.

Sophia scanned the rest of the text. "Um…oh! Her psycho agent got excited because Maxine got like a couple more million views—wow—and caused an injury. The doctor says it isn't too bad, since she didn't fall too far but she landed on it really funny."

I winced as Sophia tossed her phone on her bed. "Now, back to what we were talking about before…" she looked meaningfully at me. "Millie…"

Deciding to play dumb, I asked, "What?"

"Who do you like?"

I glanced away, and then at my knees. "I um…well, I've only been at school for a couple days…so I don't know too many guys or anything."

Sophia studied my face. "You're hiding something. I'll find out eventually."

I tossed a pillow at her. "I'll never tell," I teased, even though I had no secret to keep.

Sophia turned to Celeste and asked her a question, but I got caught up in my own thoughts. How come I don't have any secrets? I usually tell my friends everything, which isn't much. Is my life boring? I have the best friends any one could have. I have all the clothes I want. I've gotten pretty much any phone or computer I want, thanks to my rich dad. I get _everything_ I want. What's twisted about that is that I want the feeling of wanting something I can't have. Something that makes life more difficult and interesting. Looking at it this way, I guess my life is pretty boring, regardless of what everyone thinks.

I want something that excites me, makes me think, and makes my pulse race. I want something undoable.

I want something I'll remember forever. Something thrilling and permanent. _Soon._

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Jenny's POV:

I watched as Maxine hobbled into school the next day with crutches. Her friends walked with her, encouraging her and making sure she wouldn't fall.

"What happened to Maxine?" Chloe asked Felicia. We were both standing at my locker when she passed by.

"Who cares?" Felicia said grouchily, a look of annoyance on her face.

Chloe looked at me and raised her eyebrows, wondering why Felicia was being so nasty about Maxine. I shrugged. Of course I had a theory, but I wasn't going to bring it up with Felicia around. Felicia would probably blow up at me and get angrier than she is. "I'll tell you later," I mouthed.

Chloe nodded, and we continued our day as normal.

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Millie's POV:

Celeste cackled loudly. "You like _him_?" she giggled.

I didn't answer for a moment. Celeste caught me staring at this one boy during lunch. I was really only staring because he had grape jelly from his sandwich stuck on his chin. It was really distracting and I wished he would wipe it off.

Sophia raised an eyebrow questioningly, and Maxine studied the boy, her expression hard to read.

He was a little nerdy, with black square glasses perched on his nose. His hair looked like it had a little gel in it and he was talking with his other friends, laughing and adjusting his plain blue t-shirt. His math book was sitting next to him, where he would glance down every couple seconds and study from, also managing to keep up a conversation with his friends.

I was about to quickly protest, but then stopped myself. Last night, I decided that my life was getting pretty boring. This could really give me something to regret and worry about. _Perfect_.

"Yeah!" I sat up straight and plastered a big, clueless smile. "He looks really nice and smart!"

Maxine was the only one who didn't look convinced. I knew she was the lie detector, with all her smarts, but surprisingly, she didn't rat me out. She just gave me an odd look, and not wanting to be part of the conversation, slipped her headphones on and closed her eyes. I wish I could escape reality like that and just dream.

"_Really_?" Sophia leaned forward in her seat. I gave my most convincing nod. "Oh, well, I think you can do better, but if you really like him, I can totally set you up."

This is too easy. Operation Screw Up My Life So It's At Least Interesting (OSUMLSIALI) is under way. "Would you?" I asked excitedly.

"Of course." Sophia waved her hand in the air. "Anything for one of my best friends."

"Isn't his name Nathan or something?" Celeste piped.

"Yeah. I'll talk to him when I get the chance," Sophia answered.

I smiled at my plan. The operation name is a little long, but I'm off to a good start.

* * *

"Millie." Nathan called after me. School just ended and I was at my locker.

"What?"

"So…I hear you like me." This kid was a little shorter than me. I snapped back to attention after I realized I was sizing myself up to him.

"Uh-huh." I said, pleased with how well my insane plan was working.

"So I was wondering if you wanted to—" he said, but I cut him off.

"See you later!" I hollered in his face and ran off as fast as my heels allowed me, leaving a dumbstruck Nathan who will probably suffer from hearing loss after I just screamed in his face.

I was willing to say I like the kid, but going out with him? I'm not _that_ crazy.

Even though after I made this plan, I'm seriously worried about my mental state of mind.

* * *

Jenny's POV:

"Don't you think Felicia's gotten a litte grouchy lately?" Chloe said to Rachel and me.

I hesitated before answering. Was there a way to say it like it wasn't mean? But before I could figure out how to answer, Chloe continued.

"I think it's because Josh has been paying attention to Maxine lately, right? And Felicia's getting jealous because Maxine is rich, pretty, has nice clothes and a CD, don't you think?"

"You just summed it all up for me," I sighed with relief.

"I sorta agree," Rachel said. "We hardly talk now because whenever I try to talk with her, she's always got something negative to say."

"We've got to find a way to end this madness," Chloe stated.

"I'm in." I held out my hand. Chloe and Rachel slapped theirs on top of mine.

"To Operation Fix Felicia!" Rachel grinned goofily. We all raised our hands in the air.

**

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**

Just a little something for you to enjoy. A couple operations in here! In the next chapter, I'm planning to focus on Maxine's ankle and Millie's plan. R&R!


	6. Chapter 6

Maxine's POV:

I watched as Millie faked a smile as Nathan walked up to her again. He'd been to her locker three times already this morning. Was he still bothering her after she ran off yesterday before he could ask her out?

I don't know why she's lying about liking him, but I do know something's up. After lunch, she'd looked really pleased with herself at her locker when she thought I wasn't looking. Not like I needed to see her happy, pleased face to realize something's up. She's a good enough liar to fool Celeste and Sophia, but she can't get past me.

I hobbled over to my locker and began unloading my backpack, secretly watching Millie being followed down the hall by Nathan. What did she get herself into?

Not knowing the answer, I shrugged to myself and slipped my headphones on.

* * *

Millie's POV:

"Hey, Millie." Nathan said to me while I was on my way to lunch.

"Hi, Nathan!" I answered in my most excited voice.

"So…you wanna go to the pizza place down the street with me after school today?" Nathan asked shyly.

I hesitated to answer. _Is this getting out of hand already?_ Maybe I need to stop this now before this goes any further. "Oh, Nathan, you are a really sweet guy and—"

Sophia flew in behind me, placing a forceful hand on my shoulder. "And she'd love to!"

_Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no oh no OH NO! _"_WHAT?"_ I screeched as Nathan's face lit up.

"Really?" he asked me—or Sophia. It was a little hard to tell.

"Totally." Sophia beamed at her match-making skills while I resisted the urge to shove my Coach bag down her throat.

"I'll..uh..meet you after school." Nathan walked away to his table and Sophia squealed.

"You have a date!"

"Oh, yeah, I guess I do," I said, but what I didn't say was, "_WHY_ did you _DO_ that!"

* * *

Millie's POV:

"And so I walked in the lunchroom and saw Nathan talking to Millie." Sophia told Celeste and Maxine the story after they all sat down for lunch. "I walk up to them and find that Nathan just asked Millie out for pizza after school."

Celeste squealed her excitement.

"So Millie freezes up, and she starts rambling like she's about to reject him or something. I know she was totally in love with him the other day, so I didn't want her mess anything up. I saved the day by saying yes _for_ Millie since she was so psyched he asked her that she just spaced out."

"You _always_ save the day, Sophia." Celeste beamed and fiddled with a blonde curl. "That's why we love you."

I said nothing the whole time. I sat there, dumbstruck, too shocked that now I have a date with a boy just because I wanted to do something different to do anything.

"Look at her," Maxine piped up, gesturing to me. Her voice was sugary sweet. Maxine doesn't talk sweetly. It was so sweet it almost made my teeth rot. "She can hardly talk since she's so _excited_." She emphasized the last word, studying me.

Maxine knows something's up. If I can hide it from her, then I can hide it from anyone.

Now I just need to learn how to be the best dang liar there ever _was_.

* * *

Maxine's POV:

He _stares_. A legit stare. It burns the back of my head.

I was keeping to myself in History, taking good notes, when I first felt the weird sensation on my cheek. It felt like all the cells on my cheek were on fire.

I intentionally drop my pencil on the floor, and look at him—only to find his eyes boring into mine. _That is one intense gaze_, I thought to myself.

"Josh?" I ask sweetly, pretending to be oblivious of what he was doing. "Can you grab that?"

Josh's eyes snap to attention and he takes his gaze away from me as he bends down and picks up my pencil. As soon as I have it and go back to taking notes, I feel his eyes on me again.

Why wasn't this kid taking notes? He's a model-student. Model-students _always_ take notes. It's practically an unwritten rule that model students take notes because that's how the bad kids _get _the notes.

So maybe this kid likes me. Maybe he watches me at lunch and talks to me between classes. But he's just not my type. Because he doesn't follow the model-student role, which means that now all the bad kids will never get the notes and won't pass the test, which will make the teacher get angry and have an aneurism. _Look, Josh, by not taking notes you just made our teacher have an aneurism!_

I said this when he walked me out to my locker. He was talking about this project for science when I interrupted him.

"I hate when model-students don't take notes," I stated plainly. _Wait a second, the bad kids always get bad grades on the test because they don't study the notes they copied!_

"I agree. So what class are you going to next?" He gazed at me, and then his eyes flicked to something behind me. He stiffened.

I quickly turned around, hitting the person standing behind me, only to find that it was _Felicia! Great._

"What are you doing talking to him?" she growled at me. Her eyes looked fiery and jealous, and her chapped lips looked angry.

I blinked in response, no words coming to my mind. My only solution was to shrug and say, "Nuh-thin," and walk past her. For some reason I knew that I just made it sound like I was actually doing something.

* * *

Maxine's POV:

Watching Millie being escorted by Nathan around the school, who sometimes carried her books for her or just trying to talk with her was getting really weird. She'd smile and respond to his words, but sometimes she ended the conversation by swishing her skirt behind her as she headed into a classroom, Nathan staring after her, making sure she was okay.

He had changed since he talked to her yesterday. He took his glasses off and was walking around blindly. He wore his jeans lower and got new sneakers. He was trying to be the guy Millie wanted and she still obviously didn't like him.

My ears ached for music. My fingers shot into my purse, gripped my IPod, and brought them out. After some short decision-making, I decided on the perfect song:

_Do I attract you?  
Do I repulse you with my queasy smile?  
Am I too dirty? Am I too flirty?  
Do I like what you like? _

Yeah, I could be wholesome  
I could be loathsome  
I guess I'm a little bit shy  
Why don't you like me?  
Why don't you like me without making me try?

I try to be like Grace Kelly  
But all her looks were too sad  
So I tried a little Freddie  
I've gone identity mad!

I could be brown, I could be blue  
I could be violet sky  
I could be hurtful, I could be purple  
I could be anything you like

Gotta be green, gotta be mean  
Gotta be everything more  
Why don't you like me?  
Why don't you like me?  
Why don't you walk out the door!

I've always liked the song _Grace Kelly_ by Mika. I've always interpreted it to be about the guy who could be anything the woman wanted him to be—but she doesn't like him. It's a total _Grace Kelly_ moment.

* * *

Millie's POV:

"So you like pineapple on your pizza?" Nathan asked me, trying to make conversation. We were hanging outside the pizza place, sitting on one of their benches.

"Yep." I look around at the trees and grass nearby. A cloud drifted by. Maxine would note the beauty in that.

I almost asked Maxine to come with me, but I knew she wouldn't and I didn't want to admit that I'm up to something. I wondered what I was going to tell my kids if they asked me about my first date.

"You look really pretty today," Nathan noted.

"Thank you," I said, running a hand through my curls and smoothing out my skirt.

"So…" Nathan trailed off, not sure what to say. I finished my slice of pizza and threw it in the trash. "You wanna do something?"

I thought of the most public place I could. "Let's go for a walk," I suggested.

We both got up from the bench and began walking towards one of the stores. No one was out on the street and most of the stores were empty, which was unusual. We both walked awkwardly together, not going into one of the stores until we passed all of them and reached the park. That was mostly empty too, except for a mother with her two toddlers and some teenagers sitting on the bench, holding hands. Worried that Nathan would take their cue and try to hold my hand, I switched my purse to the arm closest to him so he wouldn't try anything.

"The trees and flowers are really pretty," I noted.

"Yeah, they are," he answered, and the conversation fell dead.

_Sophia would know what to do_, I thought, wishing she was here.

After some light conversation, we neared the end of the park, far away from the mother and the two teenagers. Nathan seemed a little nervous, so I decided to end it there. "Well, I better get going, with homework and all. Thanks for the pizza."

"You're welcome." Nathan turned to me.

"So, see ya!" I quickly walked away, thanking the Lord that the date was over.

**

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So we have an awkward first date in there! REVIEW!

**I might not be able to update as much, since track season just started at my school and next week I'm running every day of the week. I love writing this story, so I'm gonna try and keep updating!**


	7. Chapter 7

Maxine's POV:

I came to school the next day to find Sophia, Celeste, and Millie waiting at my locker. They all mirrored each other's worried expression.

"Hey, guys," I said, and opened my locker. The locker door blocked Sophia's face.

Sophia tilted her head to the side so she could see me. Her hand shot out, and for a second I thought she was going to hit me. But she held out a manicured hand, clutching a piece of paper between her thumb and pointer finger.

"What's this?" I asked.

"You tell us." Celeste's blue eyes widened.

"Is it bad? Are you angry with me?"

"We're not mad. Just read it." Millie gave me an assuring half-smile.

Sophia stared at me, prompting me to take the note. I cautiously took it out of her hands and opened it. Down the hall, I saw the Pops stare over at us, looking curious. Felicia and her friends were down the hall, looking worried, glancing over at us and whispering.

_To: Jenny, From: Felicia_, It said. I unfolded it.

_I just found out the worst news ever! Josh told Rachel that he likes Maxine! I've got to do something because I think he's going to dump me! Maxine is so dead!_

"This chick is crazy," I said. My friends guffawed.

"She's got it out for you." Sophia cracked up. "What are you gonna do?"

"Get her first," Celeste offered.

"C'mon, don't stoop to her level," Millie disagreed.

"You know what they say—_Only the Good Die Young,_" I said thoughtfully. "And by _they_ I mean Billy Joel."

"True." Sophia grinned. "Oh, Maxine, I think you're turning into me."

My eyes widened in horror. Becoming Sophia would mean…well, I've always been different from her. I've prided myself on being different from her. Sophia's great, but she's always seemed shallow.

"I wouldn't stoop to her level," I assured Millie.

"Well, you've got to do _something_," Sophia said. "She did say you're dead."

"But we'll protect you," Celeste said. "She won't be able to do anything with us around."

I gathered my books and we all walked down the hall. Felicia looked angry and a little bit worried at the same time. Jenny just looked scared, pressed up against her locker as we walked by. Sophia and Celeste glared at them both, their arms hooked through mine protectively.

* * *

Maxine's POV:

After school, I took a long time to get my things together. The hallway had pretty much cleared out by the time I began heading toward the exit. I was startled when a figure jumped out in front of me.

It was Felicia, whose fists were clenched. She stood tall and angry.

"I know you have the note."

"What note?" I said, an amused smile playing across my face. I couldn't help it. This was all so trivial and she was taking it seriously.

"You know which note. And what are you smiling about?" she hissed. She took a step closer, trying to be intimidating. Her attempt made a chuckle escape from my lips.

"And what exactly did this note say? I might have it mixed up with another note."

"You know, the one where I talked about…Josh dumping me." Felicia's cheeks reddened.

"Oh, and what exactly did it say about me?" I smirked.

"That you're…dead."

"Ohhhhh!" I pretended I suddenly remembered. "Silly me! I totally forgot about that!" I pulled the note from my pocket and waved it in the air.

"You remembered!" Felicia shouted angrily, her voice echoing off the lockers.

I nodded mischeviosuly.

"So why'd you make me say that and embarrass myself?"

"I like to call out dumbasses and make them feel stupid." I shrugged.

"Dumbass?" Felicia's face became even more menacing. "Give me the note," she growled furiously.

"No," Sophia said powerfully from behind me. She stood to my right. Celeste walked over to my left, her curls ferociously bouncing. Millie stood next to Celeste, her eyes glancing back and forth between all of us.

Felicia took a step back. "Give it to me," she repeated warily, suddenly unsure of herself. I was glad that they suddenly showed up. I wasn't sure what I'd do.

"Um…_no_," Sophia said, sounding like she was unsure if Felicia understood. "In the note, you threatened Maxine's life. Celeste's dad is a lawyer, and since we have your threat on paper, we'll sue if you don't back off."

We all walked around Felicia, and headed out. Celeste bumped Felicia's shoulder. It was funny to see Celeste's petite body almost knock her over. Celeste was so girly and cute, but she can be really fiery when one of us is threatened.

"Well, who wants pizza?" Sophia offered nonchalantly.

Millie groaned. "No," she moaned. "I don't think I'll ever eat pizza again."

"Why?" Sophia asked her.

"One word: Nathan."

We all nodded supportively. She had told us about her fiasco date earlier that morning.

"Are you going to go out with him again?" Sophia asked.

"No!" Millie shook her head quickly. "That first date was more than enough, thank you very much."

* * *

Jenny's POV:

"And she called me a dumbass!" Felicia said angrily. She was over at my house after school, along with Chloe.

"Wow," I answered. I'm not used to hearing people swear, especially Felicia. We weren't the type to curse.

"I am _so_ getting her for this."

"But I thought Sophia said they'll sue," I pointed out.

"Please, over some middle-school note? I highly doubt that." Chloe rolled her eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't put too much past them." I shrugged.

"True." Chloe looked around thoughtfully, and then grinned at me.

"Tomorrow, I'm going to make Josh choose between me and her," Felicia decided.

"Why not make him choose now?" Chloe suggested, waving her phone in the air.

"I don't like this, guys," I said warily.

"No, I want Maxine to be there when it happens. He's going to choose me." Felicia smiled a determined smile. This was really unlike her. She turned to us, and beneath the fury, I could see fear and insecurity. "He'll choose me, right?"

I didn't answer. How would I know?

"Definitely," Chloe said. I shot her a look that said _don't-promise-her-anything-because-it-might-not-happen. _She responded with a _shut-up-I-know-what-I'm-doing _glance. "Why wouldn't he choose you over Maxine? I mean sure, she's pretty, rich, has expensive clothes, an amazing voice, and over three million views on YouTube. You're…..nice and smart." Chloe struggled to think of something. "You have nice teeth, and…."

"And she's like that, too," Felicia snapped. "I'm dead."

I wanted to assure her, but I couldn't think of anything. I guess that's what you get when you go up against a famous singer who's has everything she wants.

You lose.

**

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And there you have it! My new chapter. Hey guys, I have a feeling that some people are reading my story but not really reviewing it. If you are reading, then hey! A review would be great, even if it's just one word. I accept anonymous reviews, and not sure if I should continue because no one is critiquing it. Unless my computer is wrong, it's telling me that this story is getting viewed, so I really need reviews, guys. Thanks :D


	8. Chapter 8

Jenny's POV:

I watched Maxine sitting down on the bench before school. She was wearing a blazer over a flowery gorgeous tank top, and jeans tucked into one shoe, and the other pant leg tucked into her cast. She had her headphones on and was looking at something on her IPod Touch. I wished I had one of those. But my parents made it clear that I was lucky I even got a cell phone.

"Today's the day," Felicia announced to Rachel, Chloe, and me. "He's going to choose."

The three of us exchanged glances, remembering Operation Fix Felicia. So far, we hadn't made progress. But we had to soon, or else something bad could happen.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" I asked her gently. I hoped she wouldn't get offended.

Felicia nodded. "I have to," she answered. "I can't take this uncertainty anymore."

"What are you going to do if Josh chooses Maxine?" Chloe asked. Rachel and I shot her a look.

"He won't." Felicia looked determined to beat Maxine. "That could never happen."

"We'll see," Chloe said, obviously questioning Felicia's judgment.

"When is this going to happen?" Rachel asked.

"Lunch." Felicia glanced at the clock. "That seems like an eternity away at this rate."

"Who knows?" I said. "Time might just fly by."

* * *

Sophia's POV:

I sat down at our usual table during lunch. Celeste gave me a perky "Hi!" and Millie greeted me calmly. Maxine tipped her head towards me in greeting, her neck stretching back.

"What's up with the Pops lately?" Celeste asked. "They've been flying under our radar for awhile now."

I tilted my head to the right, thinking. "That's a good observation, Celeste. You'd think they would've made fun of us by now, but they've left us alone. It's like they're pretending we don't exist."

"Maybe something will happen soon," Millie predicted.

"I think something might," I answered.

"Hey, Maxine," said a voice from behind me. I watched Maxine's contented expression shift to suspicion. Wondering who it was, I turned around, my long hair whipping around my face.

Felicia stood there with Josh to her left. Jenny and Rachel stood to her right, looking extremely uncomfortable. I stared at them in a judgmental manner for good measure, pleased at how well I can irk them.

"Come with us for a second," Felicia said in a sweet, chipper voice. I wish I could write FAKE on her forehead in permanent marker. How hilarious that would be! I smiled to myself, pleased with my creativity.

"Just talk to her here," I ordered. "She'll tell us whatever you said anyway."

"No." Felicia stood her ground. Josh looked annoyed.

"Okay, what is this about, Felicia?" Josh sounded a little nervous, like he was about to be exposed for something.

"Ugh, I'm coming." Maxine stood up before Felicia could answer. She tossed her IPod on the table. "Watch this for me." She picked up her crutches and hobbled over to where Felicia, Josh, Rachel, and Jenny went, over by the vending machine.

"OMG, what is going on?" I squealed at Celeste and Millie.

"I don't know, but it does have something to do with _Josh_." Celeste raised her eyebrows pointedly.

"Oh yeah, he likes Maxine, right?" Millie cut in.

Celeste and I nodded vigorously. "_Ohhh, yeahhhh_," Celeste burst into giggles. A blonde curl stuck to her glossy mouth. She quickly pulled it off.

"_Whoa_, look!" Millie pointed. We followed her finger to see Felicia talking to Josh, who seemed a little scared. Maxine looked confused.

"I'm so sneaking over there to listen." I stood up from my seat. "You guys coming with me?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Celeste quickly got out of her seat and darted behind a trashcan, pretending to be sneaky but really being overly conspicuous. Millie and I giggled. I slowly inched towards them, staying near the wall. Millie was right behind me, trying to stay out of their line of sight.

"You have to choose," I heard Felicia demand.

"What's up with her?" Celeste whispered as she sidled up to me. "She's gone all crazy bossy chick on us."

"Maxine would say something like that," I said, smiling. We all turned our attention back to Maxine and Felicia.

"What am I choosing?" Josh asked.

"Me or Maxine. I know you've been talking to her. You can't have us both!" Felicia clenched her fists.

Maxine looked at Felicia in disbelief. "_What?_ We're not together!"

"But you _want_ to be with him," Felicia insisted.

"What are you, _insane_?"

Felicia ignored that comment and turned to Josh. "Choose. Right now."

"Fine." Josh looked at both girls. "I choose… Maxine." He lowered his eyes.

Felicia's mouth opened to say something, but no words came out. She looked absolutely shocked. What, did she think that Josh would choose her over Maxine? _Our_ Maxine? Maxine is great. Any guy would want her.

"I'm sorry, Felicia," Josh said solemnly. "We can't be together anymore."

"You wanted this, didn't you?" Felicia hollered in Maxine's face.

The whole cafeteria went silent. Even the cafeteria ladies were watching quietly.

"Leave her alone!" Josh said, sticking up for Maxine.

"If he wasn't so nerdy, then I would admit that he is incredibly sweet," I whispered to Celeste and Millie, who nodded in agreement.

Maxine didn't say anything. Felicia turned to Josh. "How could you?" she said loudly.

"Ohmigosh, look." I pointed at the Pops in amusement. "They're recording this. You think I could ask them to send this to me? I need to keep this for Maxine." I watched Addie and Maya point their phones at the situation, laughing.

Celeste burst into a violent fit of giggles. Millie cackled and said, "Let's ask after lunch!"

I was about to whisper something back when I heard a loud _smack_. I looked to see Felicia looking angrily at Josh, who was clutching his cheek. "Whoa, what _happened_?" I asked as some teachers began rushing towards Felicia.

Celeste and Millie were cracking up so hard it was difficult to tell what they were saying.

"Felicia…just…." Celeste doubled over, laughing too hard to speak.

"_Slapped_ Josh!" Millie finished, and the two cracked up all over again.

I had to admit, the thought of Felicia hitting some black-belt did seem quite entertaining. So I started laughing too.

"You're _dead!"_ Felicia hissed at Maxine just as the teachers grabbed her arms and pulled her away, probably to the office to yell at her.

"Ha-ha," I teased as Felicia and the teachers walked by me. This was all too funny.

* * *

Maxine's POV:

After school, all of us went over to Addie's locker, where all the Pops were standing. Sophia told us that she had a plan, but none of us knew what it was. After hearing that we were going to see the Pops, I suddenly stopped liking this plan.

"Hey, guys," Sophia said sweetly.

"What do you want?" Dana said nastily.

"Well, we thought we could make a deal with you." Sophia smiled. The Pops seemed interested, so she kept going. "We know how much you hate Jenny and her friends, right?"

The Pops nodded a little hesitantly.

"So Felicia is going to go after Maxine here." Sophia pointed at me. "Because Josh dumped her and likes Maxine. Though she'd never go for him." She giggled, along with Celeste and Millie. I rolled my eyes. _This is stupid._

"Anyway, we decided to ask if you guys want to team up to take her down before Felicia does anything to Maxine. We need to keep her safe. She _is_ a celebrity."

"What's in it for us?" Maya asked suspiciously.

"The chance to embarrass Felicia and her friends should be enough reason."

"Give us a minute," Addie said. "We'll talk it over right now. I'll text you our decision later."

"Sure thing." Sophia led us away.

"What was _that_?" I asked, horrified.

"Did you see how Felicia was acting today? So bossy and demanding with a touch of pure psycho." Sophia rolled her eyes.

"Of course I _saw_," I said. "She was hollering in _my_ face, you know."

"So we're gonna make her pay." Sophia shrugged.

"But _why?_ That's so wrong. She's in enough trouble with the teachers."

"Well, she needs to be in trouble with _us_. And what better way to get her than to team up with the kids who've hated her group since the beginning of sixth grade?"

"Genius," Celeste agreed. "Though a little mean."

* * *

Maxine's POV:

The next day was Saturday, and I was sitting up in my room, doing homework, when Sophia, Millie, and Celeste burst in.

"Acceptance!" Sophia shouted happily.

"What? What's going on? How did you guys get in here?" I asked.

"One: the Pops are with us on this! We're planning what we're gonna do on Monday. Two: Your housekeeper recognized us and let us in. Read the text they sent us!"

**Addie: We're in. Let's plan on Monday. Anything else?**

Sophia texted back: **One more thing.**

**Addie: What?**

**Sophia: Send us the recording from yesterday. I might have an idea.**

**Addie: Done. See you Monday.**

**

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Dun Dun Dun! Oh, what will they do to get back at Felicia? I'm open for suggestions, because I have a couple ideas of what will happen, but if I like your idea, then I might use it with your permission. Review within the next couple of days and a new chapter should be posted soon!

So I hoped you enjoyed this dramatic chapter! This was supposed to show how evil Sophia can be and the thoughts in her head. REVIEW!


	9. Chapter 9

**Prepare thyself for a shocking chapter! You've been warned...**

* * *

Millie's POV:

_Please, kill me now, Lord,_ I prayed as I sat down on a chair Monday afternoon. We were in a classroom after school. This room was usually reserved for student council meetings, but I guess nobody scheduled a meeting on a Monday. That part wasn't too bad. The bad part was that the Pops were there. They were just so annoying.

They had already set up a circle of desks when we had arrived. The main Pops, Addie, Dana, Sabrina, Claire, and Maya, were there, sitting straight up in their chairs and clasping their hands together formally.

Maxine plopped down in her chair, her butt near the edge of the seat and her legs splayed out. She crossed her arms and looked irritated, so she put her headphones on. The Pops were obviously irked by this, but Maxine looked too bothered to talk to.

Celeste's tiny body seemed to take up hardly any space in her chair. She stuck out her chin jauntily and sat quietly. She too seemed to feel a little out of place, staring at the set-up of the room.

I was leaning forward in my seat, my elbows resting on the desk. One hand supported my chin. I watched as each of the Pops looked self-consciously at themselves, checking their outfits when Sophia walked in.

Sophia smoothly sat down and crossed one leg over the other, surveying the Pops' outfits. She leaned back in her chair and blew a bubble with her watermelon-flavored gum. After she finished silently judging them, she tossed her long, smooth hair over her shoulders, signaling the start of our meeting. "Felicia and her friends are causing trouble," she started. "They're going after our poor Maxine because our arrival to the school has caused Josh to—"

"Become a total tool and start going after pretty girls when he already has a girlfriend?" Addie finished. She smirked. "Don't worry; he's the talk of the school. We've also got it on video, remember?"

Maxine said nothing, but her eyes flickered over to Addie. Her headphones were still on. I suddenly wished I had something to do. This was a waste of time. I got out my phone and began texting, ignoring Celeste's curious glances.

"So what should we do to get back at them?" Maya asked.

Sophia got out her lip gloss wand and slathered it over her lips. "Well, we've got the video, remember? We could post it on YouTube or the school website."

"That'll show how Josh is a total jerk and how insane Felicia is!" Dana exclaimed, totally on board with the plan. I put my phone away, a little more interested. Maxine watched me and took my cue. She shut off her IPod Touch and dropped it in her purse.

"But that's not good enough," Sophia decided. "We should record Felicia as much as we can so we can change her words and make her seem even more psycho. You know, in one of those voice-editing programs and stuff. Then we post it on YouTube and spread the word around."

"Genius!" Claire said. "In the meantime, we could think of other ways to embarrass Jenny, too. We should've teamed up earlier. We can do a whole lot of damage."

Maxine slammed her hands on her desk. Everyone in the room jumped. She stood up angrily. "No! Why would you guys _want_ to do that? You guys are rude, mean, egotistical, arrogant, _and_ incompetent! Do you realize how _low_ you guys are? Honestly, you guys are lower than dirt with your stupid obsession with clothes and how you look and you _ALL_ listen to the worst songs EVER! I'm sick and tired of being pulled around by Sophia, who forced us to go to this lame meeting."

Everyone sat there, dumbstruck. I didn't know what to say. Maxine turned to Sophia. "You're the shallowest person I've ever met. You belong with the Pops, and we all know what you've said about _them_." Maxine began gathering her stuff. "Now excuse me, I've got a meeting with my agent. My ratings are shooting up, and I got there because I focused on my talents and skills, not what Jenny and her friends are doing." She stormed out of the room.

"Wow," Addie said. "That was a little psycho."

And that's when I got angry, too. Sophia agreed with Addie, and I boiled. Talking about Felicia was one thing, but going after Maxine was too much.

"She's right," I said loudly.

"I know." Addie smiled at me. What a poser.

"No, not _you_," I hissed. "Maxine! She's right about you guys! Addie, you're a loser, poser, and the fakest person I've ever _seen._" I paused. "Actually, you're pretty even with Sophia. That's why you guys would be great friends." I sprinted out of the room in my heels, hoping to find Maxine.

Thankfully, I found Maxine waiting outside the school. She was just about to get into an expensive-looking car when she saw me running after her. She must've had an idea of what I did, because she grinned at me and asked, "Want to come meet my agent? I'll give you a ride."

"Sure thing," I said, and grinned back. And that was when I finally knew that I was her favorite friend, and had always been.

* * *

Millie's POV:

Lily was a very hyper woman, who talked twenty times faster than the average person and flitted about the room, talking to various people and typing things on her BlackBerry at an incredible speed. "You've got to email that recording contract to me….I've got a possible signing with Justin Bieber, but I really want to work with P!nk…You have to hurry up, I'm supposed to be talking with Maxine about her ratings and a possible opportunity…of course she's great, that's why I'm working with her!"

Maxine smiled to herself. She turned to me. "That phone call will probably take a while. What happened with you?"

"I agreed with you and left, basically. After yelling at Addie and Sophia a little."

Maxine looked at me in a different way than she usually does. "I knew you were different." Her words were short, but they shook through my body to the bone.

My insides burned up, and waves of electricity ran through my body. "I hate the music on my IPod," I blurted. "I listen to what Sophia tells me to. Can you download your songs on mine?"

"Of course," Maxine said, and she got out her IPod and played a song on random. "You might like some of them. They're mostly recent music."

I put on her headphones. Lee DeWyze was singing "Beautiful Like You". Maxine sang along, and I listened carefully to the words.

_And I wish that_  
_You could feel it_  
_But you don't choose_  
_To believe it_  
_Cause I know that_  
_You can't see it that way_  
_That way_

_If you could only just stop stop stop running_  
_If you could only take a second to breath it in_  
_Everything that you know would be beautiful_  
_Like you_  
_You know they're never gonna stop stop stop your love_  
_Let's pretend that the world is waking up_  
_Everything that we see is beautiful_  
_Like you_  
_Like you_

"Sometimes I hate this song," Maxine said after the song finished. "Because it makes me hopeful that one day people would wake up and realize how they're acting."

"Are you sure you're thirteen?" I joked. "Because I wish I talked like that."

"Oh, you're more like that than you realize."

"Maxine, was that you singing?" Lily interrupted. "That was just wonderful; we should record you singing that, maybe post it on YouTube, and with Lee's permission, we can put it on your CD!"

Maxine and I looked at each other and grinned. "Sure, Lily," Maxine said. "After I download a couple songs on Millie's IPod, though."

**

* * *

**

Maxine and Millie are growing closer, but what is going to happen to Celeste and Sophia? Who will Celeste choose? Well, to find this out, you gotta do one small thing for me. REVIEW!


	10. Chapter 10

**Here's a shout-out to Thalia Grace-Pinecone Face: Thanks for the advice, I'll try my best to slow it down. I just love surprises, but I totally understand what you mean. Thanks for the advice!**

Millie's POV:

I didn't sleep well that night. I thought I would feel better because I was with Maxine, but I tossed and turned the whole night, agonizing over what happened. _What would Sophia do if she were in my shoes? Will she ignore us tomorrow? Will they still terrorize Felicia? Will Celeste hang with us or them?_

My parents had let Maxine sleep over even though it was Monday night. They just made sure Maxine brought her clothes and books for tomorrow. As soon as Maxine entered my room, she dropped all of her books down and readied herself for bed.

After meeting with her agent, Maxine and I had stayed at the studio and did our homework for a while, also hoping to see someone famous. Sadly, though, P!nk had to cancel her meeting because her flight over to the studio had been delayed, so we never got to meet her.

Back at my large house, I grabbed a bunch of pillows from a closet and spread them on the floor. I then got out a very thick blanket and set it on the pillows to act as a sheet. After, I put out a sleeping bag and draped a colorful blanket over it for extra warmth. "We can't share my bed because I kick in the night," I explained.

Maxine flopped down onto her sleeping bag. "No worries," she told me, and then closed her eyes after I shut the lights.

In the middle of the night, I stayed awake, listening to Maxine's deep breathing. I couldn't get what I'd done out of my head. I had ruined my entire friendship with Sophia and couldn't take it back. Unless…

Was there some way I could take it back? I could claim momentary insanity or an evil twin sister. Maybe there was a full moon. I shook my head. Sophia would never go for that, and I knew that I had stood up for what I believed in. No way I would back down and crawl back to her ever again.

So much was happening. Nathan was after me at school, Maxine has her record deal, Felicia was going after her, and Sophia probably wants me dead for disagreeing with her. This was all too much. Is there a way to stop all of this?

But I had gotten what I wished for: something exciting, undoable, and regrettable. Wasn't this what I wanted? Only now that I have it, I wished I could undo everything.

I stared at my alarm clock, envying Maxine, who could sleep after what happened. How is that she was relaxed enough to sleep? In the darkness, I could see her long dark hair flowing from her head, spread across the pillow. One hand was tucked under the white pillow, and her mouth was slightly open. She looked so calm and worry-free. She's always so zen and a genius when it comes to life. She didn't seem to care that she blew up at Sophia and Addie earlier today.

The hours ticked by. I couldn't tear my gaze from my clock, and watched as the numbers inched closer to dawn, and then the alarm went off. Maxine shot up from her makeshift bed.

"Whaaaaa?" came from her mouth as she looked around in confusion. After looking around and realizing were she was, she rubbed her eyes and looked over at me. "Sorry, I was just startled because I forgot where I was." She studied my face. "You don't look so good. How did you sleep?" she got out of her sleeping bag and turned on the lights.

"How did I sleep?" I repeated. "I wouldn't know since I wasn't able to." I clutched my head, my fingers curling into my hair. "I've got a migraine," I moaned.

"You can't go to school in this condition," Maxine declared. "You'll have a breakdown if you try to perform academically without rest. We're both staying home." She sat down on the edge of my bed and grinned at me. "I've got back pains anyway from the floor. I miss my TempurPedic!" we both giggled.

"So tell me," I said to Maxine. "How did you sleep last night after what happened?"

"So _that's_ what you lost sleep over." Maxine sprawled out on my bed, her chin resting on my left shin. "I slept well because I know I did the right thing and don't doubt my decision. I'm just going to let it be. If Sophia and I are meant to be friends, then fate will bring us back to each other again. But I'm not going to push it."

"Well I'm sad I lost Sophia, and am worried she'll get back at us."

"If she did something to hurt us, then that means we were never meant to be close." Maxine shrugged. "You should try to sleep some, but not past noon or else you won't sleep tonight. I'll talk to your parents. And when you're done napping, we should do home-made facials or something fun." Maxine got up, pulled her pajama pants down a little, and walked out, closing the door behind her.

I sighed as I curled back into my bed. I was glad to have a day to recoup after the drama and get a grip on some things. A lot of things were happening fast, but hopefully it'll slow down soon.

**There's a little something for you guys while I get to work on the next chapter! Love you all, now REVIEW! REVIEW! And one more time: REVIEW! *GIGGLE***


	11. Chapter 11

**I've never read Psychology for Dummies. But yes, I've read Body Language for Dummies, but that's because I was on my way home from vacation and wanted to learn how to read people on their body language, okay? I'm a weird girl.**

Millie's POV:

The next day, Maxine and I decided to go to school. "Do you think Celeste will choose us or Sophia?" I asked nervously as we stood outside the school.

Maxine bent down and retied her shoelaces, not meeting my eyes. "We'll see."

"I guess."

At lunch, Maxine and I sat down at our usual spot. Sophia and Celeste had avoided us all morning, though they weren't together. Celeste kept her head ducked down and walked quickly, but Sophia was with the Pops, whispering. Sophia kept an eye on the kids in the hallway, looking for Celeste.

* * *

Sophia was sitting with the Pops at lunch. She obviously stood out from the rest of them, though; her clothes were much more pricey and high class. But she didn't seem to be the new leader or anything, which didn't make much sense. The one with the most fashionable clothes is the ruler. Sophia herself seemed disappointed. Maybe it was about that.

"Look," Maxine whispered next to me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

I looked up to see Sophia, Addie, and Maya standing over at Jenny's table. They all looked angry and they were arguing. Suddenly, Addie snatched up Josh's Gatorade and dumped it on Chloe.

"Holy—" Maxine started to say, but I slapped my hand over her mouth. We both watched in silence as Chloe started to wail loudly. A bunch of teachers rushed over, like earlier last week, except now they were heading for Chloe and Addie. Sophia slowly backed away, unseen by the teachers, and retreated to her table.

"Sorry," Maxine apologized to me after everyone calmed down. "I usually don't swear, but this is getting out of hand!"

"Definitely," I was about to say something else when the bench we were sitting on shifted and Celeste slid in next to me.

"Did you see that?" Celeste waved her manicured hand in the air. "Sophia and Addie are such bullies!" she rolled her eyes.

"Is Sophia mad at you, too?" I asked.

"I've been ignoring her calls and avoiding her at school," Celeste admitted. "Yesterday, I skipped lunch and had a protein bar in the library so I wouldn't have to sit with her."

"A lot of things have changed," Maxine noted.

Celeste's big, blue eyes watered. "At the meeting on Monday, Sophia was being such a jerk. She was bossing me around and treating me like a servant. So I left the meeting early without saying anything. I just walked out. Since then, Sophia's been trying to talk to me, but I just ignore her." She added quietly, "She's only sad that we've all left her, so she wants me on her side."

"You did the right thing," Maxine said soothingly.

"I know," Celeste nodded. "But we need to do something to stop her."

"What could we do?" I wondered.

"Maybe we need to make her feel how she makes us feel," Celeste offered.

"Like we're ignorant imbeciles?" Maxine snorted. "I'm not treating anybody that way."

"We only have to do one thing to make her realize how she's acting. She won't listen if we try to talk to her. We have to do something big. It's the only way," I said.

"Maybe we could team up with Jenny and her crew," Celeste tried. "Sophia might hurt them less if they're hanging out with her old best friends."

"Or she might go after them even more," Maxine pointed out. "But I agree with your idea. It's worth a try."

"Let's talk to them now," I suggested, and we all stood up.

We all walked together over to Jenny's table, aware that the Pops were watching us suspiciously. We were acutely aware of one new Pop in particular, her expertly lined eyes watching us, her perfectly glossed lips pursed.

"Hi, guys," I greeted Jenny and her friends when we reached in her table. "Is Chloe still gone?"

"They took her to the office," Jenny informed us. "They're probably yelling at her and Addie this very moment."

"Thanks to Sophia," Felicia said nastily, glaring at Maxine. Maxine glowered back. She hated being looked down on.

"We ditched her, because she's been really awful to us lately." Celeste glanced at Maxine and me. "And we need to do something to make her stop acting that way. Do you guys want to team up with us?"

Jenny looked at Josh, Mark, Liza, Rachel, and Felicia. "Should we?" she asked them.

"After what Sophia did to Chloe today, I'm in." Rachel nodded.

Everyone else agreed. "Great," Celeste said.

I tossed a sly grin at Maxine. She winked back. "Let's do this," I said, and bumped Maxine's fist.

* * *

Maxine's POV:

"Okay," Millie said after school. We were all gathered at my house, in my bedroom. Everyone was sitting on their own cushion, except for Millie, Celeste, and me. We were perched on my bed. "We need to brainstorm ways to get Sophia away from the Pops. When she's been separated with them, she's lost all her power."

"We also need to get rid of something important to her. That'll jar her emotionally, and then we can reach her," I put in.

"How do you guys know this stuff?" Marc asked me.

"Psychology for Dummies," Celeste said.

"_Seriously?_" Chloe giggled.

"Uh, no, of course not. I just know a lot." I said nervously. _Okay, fine, but I only read a couple chapters,_ I thought.

Celeste smirked, amused. "_Anyway,_ now we need to figure out what's most important to Sophia."

"We are," Millie blatantly informed us.

"Well, degrading us is a funny way of showing how important we are," Celeste snapped.

I sprawled out on my bed. Josh stared at me and scooted a little closer. I glared back and rolled my eyes as I refocused my attention to Celeste.

"Think about it," I said. "What did Sophia do every day? She hung out with us. What did she do as soon as she had news? Told us. What would she do when one of us was in trouble? She stuck by us."

"Except when the Pops came along. Now she's ditched us for their snotty attitude and their lame clothes. I'm sure she's happy now." Celeste rolled her eyes.

"But Maxine does have a point," Millie pointed out thoughtfully. "I mean, Sophia is also obsessed with clothes, gossip, and makeup, but yeah, I'd say we were pretty important to her."

"So that means she's already thrown off her game." I looked at Jenny's crew, who was too busy looking at my big room and marveling at the size of my house to pay attention. "You guys hear that? Now all we have to do is isolate her from the Pops and she'll feel all alone. Then we could talk to her. Maybe she'll listen."

"Then we need to spy on them to find the best time to do it." Chloe sat up straighter.

"I hear Dana is having a sleepover Friday night," Felicia piped up. "Maybe we could do it then."

"I've got an idea," Celeste announced, tugging on a blonde curl. "Listen up."

Everyone perked up and Millie retrieved a white board for Celeste to write on. Celeste stood up next to the big board, frantically drawing a lay out. "I've seen Dana's house before, so I know possible ways you could get in." she drew an outline of the house. "Listen closely. Every detail is _cuh-rucial_." She emphasized.

This is going to be big.

* * *

**Their biggest mission yet? Read on to find out.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey, guys, sorry I haven't given you guys any warning, but this story has come to an end. So please, read this chapter for your final closure. (Tear) Haha, well just read.**

Maxine's POV:

On Friday night, I crouched in the bushes, along with Celeste, Millie, Josh, Marc, Lisa, Rachel, Felicia, and Jenny. There were three of us to a bush. I adjusted my black cap and smoothed out my black outfit, down to my black ballet flats. I was still able to be cute while following the dress guidelines. All black, no color.

Unfortunately, I was sharing the same bush as Josh and Marc. I ignored Josh by talking with Marc. "Do you want me to put some black streaks on your face?" I offered, holding up Celeste's black eyeliner.

"Sure, but I don't see why it would help." Marc held still as I drew two thick lines under his eyes.

"So your face doesn't stand out as much. And because it makes you feel tougher than you really are," I shrugged as Marc chuckled.

"You're pretty funny. I'm glad we're doing this," Marc said, and our eyes locked. In the darkness, I could barely see Marc's cheek blush.

"Can you draw on my face, too?" Josh interrupted, realizing what just happened between us. I broke Marc's gaze, though I could feel him still staring at me, probably wondering what would happen next between us. Would I end it before it started?

"Yeah," I said, my voice breaking to my embarrassment. Crap. Now Marc knows that he has some effect on me. Josh placed a hand on my shoulder as I drew the best lines I could in the darkness. "Hands off, Josh," I warned.

Marc glared at Josh, and Josh glowered back. I rolled my eyes.

"Guys," Celeste whispered from the bush next to us. I could make out her blonde curls. "Remember what you do when we get the window open. You have about forty-five seconds for each prank. Good luck." Celeste, Felicia, and Rachel darted towards the side of the house. They climbed up the trellis and peered in the window. After seeing that no one was in the room, they opened the window. That was our cue.

Marc, Josh, and I sprinted towards the trellis as Felicia and Rachel dropped down. Celeste wasn't moving. "Guys, my foot is stuck," she hissed as quietly as she could. She was seven feet off the ground.

"I'll get her," I told Marc and Josh. "Stay below and catch us if we fall." I stepped up as fast as I could, until I made it to Celeste's foot. "I'm gonna pull, okay?" I told her. "Ready?"

"Ready," Celeste whispered nervously. I let go of the trellis and grabbed her foot with both hands. I yanked back as hard as I could. Celeste's foot popped out, and now I was grabbing air. I fell backwards. "Maxine!" Celeste cried as quietly as she could. I fell down and shut my eyes, praying that someone was there.

I fell into someone's arms. I slowly opened my eyes, and found that Marc was staring down at me. "Thanks."

"Yeah."

I dropped down, and saw that Celeste had already made it down. She looked at Marc curiously. "Maxine, Josh, you guys start climbing. I gotta talk to Marc for a second. He'll meet you at the top."

Josh and I started making our way up. "You need help getting through the window?" he offered. "I can certainly help with that." He flashed a devilish grin.

I shook my head. No way was I accepting anything from him. "You're a real douche, you know that?" I informed him. I hopped in through the window and inspected my surroundings.

Marc and Josh hopped in after me. "What was that about?" I asked Marc.

"Nothing," Marc shook his head.

"Let's head to the bathroom first," Josh suggested. Then we'll ruin the snacks, and lastly, we'll cause some trouble in the hallway." We all grinned at each other. To be more specific, both boys grinned at me and I grinned at Marc.

"Let's go, then." I crept out of the room. Dana's door was closed, and I could hear music and laughter inside. We stepped into the bathroom, where I poured glue into Dana's shampoo. One of the Pops set up her cosmetics in the bathroom earlier, so Marc dumped honey from his backpack into the facial wash.

"I can't believe we're doing this," Josh murmured. "But they totally deserve it."

Marc ignored his comment and fished out a bag of plastic apples and a paper plate. He set the apples on the plate and put it outside the door of Dana's room. "That way, they'll think her mother set them out," he explained to me.

I used scotch tape to fasten a thin piece of wire to both sides of the wall. "Whoever will walk down the hall will trip over this." If all goes well, then the Pops will think Sophia was playing tricks on them and kick her out. Then we would take that chance to convince her that the Pops weren't her friends.

The three of us climbed down the trellis after that. Jenny, Liza, and Millie were waiting at the bottom, ready to take watch. As soon as I made it down, I slapped Josh on the face and stalked away. Both boys ran after me.

"What was that for?" Josh roared, grabbing my arm. Celeste, Felicia, and Rachel stared. Felicia looked pleased that I had slapped Josh, though.

"Let go of me!" I shouted back at him, attempting to wrench my arm from his grasp.

Celeste did her best to quiet us down, but Marc wasn't listening. "Leave her alone!" he yelled loudly, and pushed Josh away. Josh responded by punching at Marc, letting go of me, and I fell to the ground. Rachel grabbed me and helped me up as Celeste tried to get the boys to stop fighting. Felicia did nothing, happy that Josh was getting beaten up.

"That was a nice slap," Felicia complimented me.

I grinned back. "Thanks."

"What's that noise?"

Everyone froze. We all heard Addie head towards the open window and we scurried for a hiding spot. I dove into a bush with Marc and Celeste. Jenny, Felicia, and Rachel darted for the tree, and Lisa, Millie, and Josh ran to the side of the house.

Addie's face peered out the window. "I don't see anything," she called back to her friends. Sophia stood beside her.

"Maybe some kids down the street were fighting," Sophia said.

"Well, they stopped now." Addie shrugged, and the two walked away from the window.

"Look what you did." Celeste punched Marc's arm. She then grinned wildly at him. "Remember what I talked to you about."

"What was she talking to you about?" I asked as Celeste walked away. Everyone else resumed their post.

Marc looked me in the eye. "This." And then he leaned forward.

* * *

Jenny's POV:

This was really working! I was watching through the window as Dana opened the door and took the apples, assuming that her mother set them down. A couple seconds later, I heard someone shriek. "These are _plastic_!" Maya screamed.

"Who did this?" Dana asked.

"This has never happened before," Addie said. "In fact, nothing has happened until _Sophia _showed up."

"It's not me," I heard Sophia insist.

"Well, whatever, I'm gonna go wash my face." Sabrina Rosen padded out towards the bathroom, until she tripped over the wire. "HEY!" she yelled.

All of the Pops streamed out into the hallway. "Who strung out this wire?" Addie wondered.

Every girl looked at Sophia.

Sophia giggled nervously. "I swear I had nothing to do with that."

"Fine, but one more prank and you're out of here," Sabrina growled.

"This is great," Millie whispered to me. "Then all Sabrina has to do is wash her face. No one will even need to use the shampoo! Jenny, I think this will work!"

"Me too," I whispered back.

All of the girls headed back into the room except for Sabrina, who walked around very carefully, lifting her feet very high. We giggled a little too loudly. Sabrina looked our way, and we quickly ducked.

While waiting for Sabrina to stop looking over at us, I looked down at the yard. Celeste was standing in the middle of the yard, and Marc, who was next to Maxine, was staring up at us. I signaled to my friends that someone was near the window. After a few minutes, I cautiously peeked up to find Sabrina washing her face.

"Oh my God!" Sabrina looked at her face. "Who put honey in my facial wash?" she shouted. "It's really sticky!"

"Sophia!" Dana accused.

"I'm not doing this!" Sophia pleaded. "I didn't do anything, I promise!"

"Get out of my house," Dana said coldly.

Liza, Millie, and I looked at each other and smiled.

* * *

Celeste's POV:

Sophia sat on the front porch, waiting for her ride. She buried her face in her sleeping bag and cried. I sat down next to her. "Sophia."

Her head snapped up. "Celeste?" her face relaxed. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you! I'm so glad you're not mad at me and—" she stopped talking when she saw everyone else behind me.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked suspiciously.

"Those girls aren't your friends," Millie said.

"Yes they are. They respect me." Sophia glared.

Maxine chuckled, standing beside Marc, who had his arm around her waist. "If they respected you, then you would be the leader. You have the best clothes."

"Those girls only like you because you're rich and you hate us," Jenny pointed out, crossing her black-clad arms.

"But I just don't get it," Sophia cried. "They think I pulled pranks on them, so they kicked me out!"

"Oh, that." Felicia looked at Rachel and they both broke out into giggles.

"_You_ guys did that?" Sophia jumped to her feet and opened the front door.

Maxine jumped from Marc's arms and pushed the door closed. "We proved that those girls don't trust you and want nothing to do with you if you go against them. Don't you be rash and go back to those girls."

"Then does that make us friends again?" Sophia asked Maxine. She had always had a soft spot for Maxine.

"No," I said plainly. "You treated us like crap and you expect us to take you back?"

"I didn't get popular on YouTube because I let people walk all over me, you know." Maxine raised her eyebrows.

"Then why are you here?" Sophia crossed her arms.

"We just wanted to let you know that you've been a jerk to us. Now you know what it feels like to be treated unfairly." Mille glared. I noticed that she has a real mean glare.

"Let's go," I said to the others. "She obviously hasn't learned her lesson." We all walked away, though I wasn't quite done yet.

I ran back and grabbed Sophia's head, painting two black lines on her cheeks. "There." I then ran after my friends, as Sophia stared after me in shock.

I smiled to myself and laughed. I got the last word this time.

* * *

Millie's POV:

"I can't believe we didn't get caught," I said, plopping down on Maxine's cushion in her room. We all made it safely back.

"I know, right? Talk about good luck." Maxine smiled up at Marc as he sat down next to her on her cushion.

"What happens next?" Liza wondered.

We all shrugged. "It's all up to Sophia now. We've done our job." Celeste pulled her curls back into a ponytail. "In the meantime, though, I'm sleeping over at Maxine's!" she smiled happily.

* * *

**Monday Morning:**

Maxine's POV:

Sophia and the Pops were waiting outside the school when we all arrived. Somehow, Sophia had made peace with the Pops over the weekend.

Sophia strode up to me and Marc. She said nothing, but gave us a small, sad smile. "I'll miss you guys," she said.

No one answered. The breeze blew around us lightly, causing my scarf to blow in the wind. It was a gorgeous day, and the sun was making the black top sparkle. The sun glittered and the sky was clear. The tree we were standing near was resting atop the green grass.

"You're choosing them?" Celeste finally asked.

Sophia nodded slowly, and we all watched her mournfully as she walked over to her new "friends".

"How are you doing?" Marc asked me quietly, placing a hand on my shoulder.

I smiled, being as strong as I could, and looked up at him. "I guess we weren't meant to be." My smile faded.

Sophia was with new people now. There was nothing I could do to change that. But Sophia was our past. And I looked around at my new friends, seeing them all smiling back at me, and I couldn't help but smile again. This was my future now.

I glanced again at Sophia, who had paused at the door and looked back at me. I raised my hand slowly, giving one final wave to my past.

The Past waved back at me and then stepped inside, walking away from the sun.

And there I stood, surrounded by my friends, not knowing this unrecognizable warmth that spread over my body when I looked at them all. The sun shone on my face, and looking up at Marc, who smiled back at me and slung his arm around my shoulders, I realized that this wasn't the end.

This was my new beginning. And it was looking bright.

_**The End.**_

**I really hope you guys enjoyed my story, but all good things must come to an end. So an even better thing could start! YAY! You know, one door must close for another to open? Or a new beginning comes from some other beginning's end?**

**Well, I'll miss writing this, but I love you guys!**

**Peace out for the final time,**

_**~WildReasoner~**_


End file.
